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California Legislature is back to decide 1,300 bills
The California Legislature gets back to work today, starting a one-month sprint to adjournment on Aug. 31. Lawmakers have a lot to finish up: More than 1,300 bills are still in play, though many will not reach Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. One high-profile measure is Assembly Bill 1825, which would prohibit library review committees. As […]
A Sikh lawmaker wrote a bill to protect immigrant activists. Could a fight over caste derail it?
The FBI defines transnational repression as when foreign governments reach into the United States to intimidate members of their diaspora. California police say they want help identifying those incidents.
California shouldn’t buy Big Tech talking point that AI regulation will hurt innovation
Silicon Valley companies say a bill that would establish safety requirements for AI development will tamp innovation and chase companies outside of California. Their fearmongering could not be more wrong.
Rent drives up California’s cost of living
Many landlords in California can only raise the rent a certain amount. Thursday, they — and their tenants — found out how high. A 2019 law caps how much landlords can bump up rent, starting each Aug. 1: Either by 5% plus inflation, or by 10% (whichever is lower). In California, the average median rent […]
California’s multibillion-dollar bet on hydrogen energy comes with major downsides
The billions of dollars being spent on hydrogen technologies in California must be used in a way that reduces emissions and doesn't harm vulnerable communities. Unfortunately, that's not happening.
While Newsom brags about California’s economy, unemployment data tells a different story
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's brags about the state's economy, but its unemployment rate is still the highest in the nation. The fund that pays unemployment insurance benefits also faces an immense deficit.
All the ways people start California wildfires
Ballooning to more than three times the surface area of Lake Tahoe, Park Fire is now the fifth largest fire in California’s history. Last week, investigators arrested a 42-year-old Chico man suspected of starting the blaze by pushing a burning car into a ravine. But that’s not the most unusual way some of California’s destructive […]
Newsom’s push to enforce anti-camping laws repeats California’s past mistakes on homelessness
Newsom's executive order to enforce sweeps of homeless encampments only harms unhoused people further. Clearing encampments cause people to lose their belongings, connections to family and friends, and dignity — it is not the answer to the homelessness crisis.
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